Left of Boom

Left of Boom describes Laux's time as a case officer in Afghanistan, which included a tour in Afghanistan during the Afghan surge and another to Kandahar during the operation that killed Osama bin Laden.^[6] As an undercover case officer, Laux was trained in Pashto prior to his deployment along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, however, Laux writes the dialect of Pashto he learned was not spoken in the region, thus making communication with local assets initially difficult.^[7] The role that Pakistan's Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence played during this time is alluded to, but Pakistan is never specifically mentioned in the book.^[3]

Laux writes about his time in Syria meeting with leaders of the Syrian rebellion in 2012 with the goal of removing Bashar al-Assad from power. Frustrated by the Obama administration's decision to reject the CIA's plans to oust Assad in December 2012, Laux resigned from the CIA in early 2013.^[8]

Laux also discusses the strain that being an undercover agent had on his personal relationships, saying, "the closest to me were always suspicious."^[9] Laux developed addictions to alcohol and oxycontin as a way of coping with operational setbacks and the struggles of his double life, adding, "I didn't handle it well."^[10]

In an official statement released after publication, the CIA commented on Left of Boom, "Sadly, Mr. Laux’s career at the CIA did not work out," it said in a statement. "We hope that someday, maybe with age and greater maturity, he will have better perspective on his time here."^[11] Reviewing Left of Boom, the New York Times said, "The collective weight of all C.I.A. memoirs written since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks could collapse a bookshelf, but Mr. Laux brings a raw perspective to the canon."^[3]